Competitive athletes usually attach racing bibs to their racing garments using safety pins. The racing bibs contain a large name or number (possibly along with other information) to identify the athletes during the competition (e.g., running, cycling, skiing, etc.). The names/numbers have other functions, for instance to identify the athletes in photographs that vendors then sell to the depicted individuals. The bibs are often of TYVEK (a flexible lightweight spunbond polymer manufactured by DuPont), often have perforated portions that can be detached to serve as gear check receipts or drink tickets, and usually come with four openings near the corners spaced to facilitate attachment to garments.
Race organizers typically provide four safety pins to each athlete inside a race packet. The athlete collects the packet (and the pins) before the race. Safety pins can be difficult to use during the racing bib fastening process. They create a risk of skin-puncture; they have a tension bias that requires precise squeezing between the fingers to open or close them (where slippage creates further puncture risk); they are hard to manipulate in the dark (such as the night before a race when many athletes fasten their bib); they are hard to manipulate quickly (such as the moments before a race when late athletes rush to fasten their bib); they are hard to use for fastening a bib to a garment the athlete is presently wearing; they are not biodegradable; and they are not ideal for making a racing bib even, level and centered on a shirt. The attachment of racing bibs using safety pins can be a frustrating process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,815 describes a specialized garment that comes with affixed prior art snap fasteners. The garment obviates the need for safety pins, since it permits easy fastening of information panels such as racing bibs.